Took a great hike up into the Shaupeneak Ridge Park about ten minutes from the monastery. It was a beautiful hike.
I was amazed at the patterns in fern as it grew in large fields in the woods. I mused a bit about the design constraints that it works with that produce those patterns. It made me think about a "responsive" intelligence that nature displays to the laws that govern it.
I saw three of these little, tiny guys on my walk. They were less that two inches long and looked amazingly vulnerable. The color was so vivid. If you zoom in you can see faint markings on its skin. It seemed to be the opposite of camouflage; it made me wonder if they were poison to predators or tasted awful so the color was a warning.
A moody overlook waited for me at the highest point of the hike. I am amazed at how beautiful this valley is. There was a prominent painting movement here in the mid 1800s. It was called the Hudson Valley School. I saw a great display of some of the works at the Vassar Art Gallery. Every day the lighting or mists and clouds produce some lovely moods.
I noticed this little nature vignette on my walk. It seemed like such an intentional arrangement that it caught my attention. Small things like this are small reminders of the beloved for me.
This photo is just a random photo of the trail. There wasn't anything overtly inspiring about it, but you get the idea of the casual beauty that is everywhere up here.
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